The Effect of Wine Festival Environments on Visitors' Behavioral Intentions: A Study of Perceived Crowding as a Moderator

Youngjoo Shin, Purdue University

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to find out the moderating role of perceived crowding between festival environment and visitor’s positive emotion and behavioral intention. The model in this study is consisted of seven constructs: four festival environment components (functional factor, aesthetic factor, program, and wine assortment), perceived crowding, positive emotion, and behavioral intention. Since festivals run in a limited space and time, visitors meet other visitors in the festival and usually make the high crowding situation. Like other physical environment stimuli, perceived crowding is one of the very important environment factors changing visitor’s experience and their behavioral intention. However, previous research tested physical and social environment separately or give a little attention to the social factors thus, scarce research examined the interaction between physical and social factors on visitor’s responses. Because people understand environment as one picture, examining the holistic environment including perceived crowding as a social environment factor is more realistic and meaningful approach to finding out festival visitor’s behavioral intention. In the current study, we conducted a six subjects factorial analysis. The six subjects are made by a 3 festival environment (low quality vs. mid quality vs. high quality) × 2 crowding level (low crowding vs. high crowding) for four festival environment cues respectively. Finally, we found out different effects of perceived crowding and clearly explain “how” it interacts with other physical environment factors and “how much” it impacts on people’s emotion and behavior under a different level of conditions. The results of this study are as follows: First, all festival environment dimensions have directly and significantly positive impact on both positive emotion and behavioral intention. Second, the moderating role of perceived crowding to festival environment factors was significant. Specifically, when the festival environment factors were not good (low quality), high perceived crowding makes high positive emotion and high behavioral intention than low perceived crowding. In the mid-quality of the festival environment, only under the program environment, low perceived crowding makes high positive emotion and behavioral responses than high perceived crowding. However, there are no differences of perceived crowding in the other festival environment dimensions. Lastly, in the high-quality of the festival environment, the significant difference appears only under the wine assortment factor, that is low perceived crowding has better positive emotion and behavior response than high perceived crowding.

Degree

M.S.

Advisors

Jang, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Social psychology

COinS